Students from across the Valley will now have the opportunity to become the next successful Hollywood director. The video production program is a partner with the Police Activity League (PAL) to create a multimedia experience that will provide tangible skills to students.

Video Creations and Productions (VCaP) is designed to allow hard working students from the Fresno community the opportunity to explore the field of video production.

The idea for the program resulted from a brainstorming session with former video production teacher Chris Schultz and Sergeant Mike Doyle, father of alumnus Matt Doyle, (’06).

?Last year we did some video projects for the Sergeant Doyle and the PAL,? Schultz said. ?He was so impressed he wanted to know if we could work together and train local kids to use the software and create their own projects.?

As a result of the partnership, the campus received $7500 worth of video equipment purchased through a federal grant. The money was used to buy an HD digital video camera, two 320 GB hard drives, wireless microphones, mini DV tapes and a professional digital still camera.

?Ultimately this is a win-win for the school,? Schultz said. ?We can use the resources and talent that we have here at FC to reach out to local community as well as being able to enlarge our school program because of the new equipment.?

Campus hosts program’s initiation

Alumnus C.J. Haydock, (?03), former video production student and current teacher at FC, teaches the class. The campus will host the class on Thursdays from 4-7 P.M. As the students begin to work on projects, they may also work on Saturdays.

?All of it is a chance to open our doors to kids who don?t have the technology we have,? Schultz said. ?Sharing this with others gives us the opportunity to use technology in a positive way.?

In VCaP, students will learn how to design, shoot, edit and produce short videos.

?We have the same goals that we have in FC?s video productions program,? Haydock, said. ?We want to teach real, tangible, relevant skills that the kids can take farther and even earn a job with.

?Most importantly, the program offers us a chance for exposure,? Haydock said. ?Fresno Christian is community minded, and with this, we can share and learn with members of the community.?

Two students from campus contribute to the ten-person program, which also combines students from four other high schools into one class.

Senior Aaron Ortiz and junior Jonathan Bingman are two campus students in the program. Their previous knowledge from the video production class is used assist Haydock with helping the students in the program.

?It?s a great opportunity for me to not only learn more about what I like to do,? Bingman said. ?But it also gives me a chance to get to know some students from other schools.?

Jorge Rodriguez is the PAL representative involved in the program and hopes students can benefit from the class on multiple levels.

?We hope that we can bring improvement in other academic areas to the students through the class,? Rodriguez said. ?Grades and motivation to be more involved can result from the class.?

Rodriguez feels that more students can profit from the program than simply those directly involved.

?Hopefully the students in the class will tell their friends about it,? Rodriguez said. ?From there more students might be interested in learning and getting involved.?